pignut

[clive moggridge]

i found one!!!
tasted good. took allot of searching nearly gave up but their it was just as the book stated in a shady part of the wood.
fantastic.

 

[Tantalus]

arent they incredibly easy to confuse with something poisonous?

Tant

 

[stoddy]

I love pignuts


I have a secret location for them in Dorset!

I won't even tell my brother!

 

[Goose]

OK I have to ask, whats a pignut?
Is it a southern thing I have never heard of them till pignut the member gave us his reason for the name!

 

[ScottC]

This is a pignut

You eat the tuber at the base of the stem that turns 90 degrees, usually raw.

 

[Moonraker]

OK I have to ask, whats a pignut?
Is it a southern thing I have never heard of them till pignut the member gave us his reason for the name!

Goose,here is a photo of a Pignut (Conopodium majus) taken a couple of weekends ago from an old Beech wood I was staying in. Click the link forsome nice detail on identifcation etc from the-tree.org.uk.

Pignut

Pignut Leaf & Flower Detail

I meant to take a photo of the nut, or more accurately the tuber, but forgot

As Scott says, the nut is found at the end of the stem which carries on underground and turns 90 degrees just where it is attached to the nut. They are usually 7cm - 12cm(3 - 5 inches) below the surface depending on soil type. In the Beech wood I used my fingers to gently 'feel' down the stem until I could feel the nut and dig it with my fingertips, as it was mostly leaf mould. But usually in meadows I use small, stout roughly pointed stick for the purpose. Most people recommend removing the skin first but I usually just pop them in my mouth and crunch

Tant, with a decent ident book it should be quite possible to avoid any confusion with anything dangerous given their size and leaves which are quite distinctive.The one I guess you refer to is perhaps Fine Leaved Water Dropwort (Oenanthe aquatica) which can be deadly but it has quite different leaves and no tuber. It grows in damp places like ditches, fens and marshes.

I have included a detail of the pignut leaf and flower above to help with this.

But, of course as with all wild plants do make sure you are certain of what you eat! A decent ident book should ensure you avoid any confusion (or better still go with someone who knows).

Did you know that the pignut gave us the familiar country saying, ‘Here we go gathering nuts in May’

May is one month about which there is a wealth of country lore, some of it quite perplexing. ‘Here we go gathering nuts in May’, a very confusing saying, refers to the plant called pignut or earth nut, a species of white flowered umbellifer and a relation of the wild carrot. It was a common practice to dig up the small tubers that formed beneath the plant, which, when eaten raw, tasted of unripe hazelnuts.

Richard Mabey says in his 'Flora Britannica',

"Digging for the dark-brown tubers of the pignut used to be a common habit amongst country children. The nuts are usually between six and eight inches under the earth, and eaten raw, their white flesh has something of the crisp taste of young hazelnuts... they would be cooked in a Dutch oven with rabbit joints,"

ps. doesn't this thread belong in Flora & Fauna ?

 

[leon-1]

ps. doesn't this thread belong in Flora & Fauna ?

it's there now

 

[Moonraker]

it's there now

You're a star Leon. Cheers

 

[Goose]

Great answer, thanks.
Have to keep an eye open for some

 

[Tantalus]

ok sorry for taking this OT but it belongs together with the pignut

same family includes very poisonous hemlock which is a much darker green, and has red on the stems

also one of the commonest roadside plants, cow parsley though not listed as poisonous i think the hairs on the stems (and maybe juice) of this one can irritate

the 90 degree turn i think is one of the most important things to look for in a pignut

hope that helps
Tant

 

[steve a]

Then again neither Hemlock or Cow Parsley have a 'nut' attatched. Please be aware that the pignut is now getting to be quite rare, as in all wild foods harvest wisely.

 

[maverick]

I was suprised to read that there natural habitat is in woodland, as here they are growing in there thousands in a meadow which was grazed about ten years ago, put is now left to mother nature without a tree in site we know they are pig nuts as you get the 90 degree turn with the root. they where a little larger than a pea in may but I have pegged a couple to try later on in the year to see how big they get.

I find it hard to beleave that people can mistake them for cow parsley as they are only a couple of inches tall when flowering unlike the cow parsley which is much taller and the cluster of flower are much smaller.

 

[leon-1]

I was suprised to read that there natural habitat is in woodland, as here they are growing in there thousands in a meadow which was grazed about ten years ago, put is now left to mother nature without a tree in site we know they are pig nuts as you get the 90 degree turn with the root. they where a little larger than a pea in may but I have pegged a couple to try later on in the year to see how big they get.

I find it hard to beleave that people can mistake them for cow parsley as they are only a couple of inches tall when flowering unlike the cow parsley which is much taller and the cluster of flower are much smaller.

Maverick, I have seen them in the west country in meadows also (last time I think it was on the leeward side of a large Oak), but having said that I have also seen them in woodlands on Dartmoor.

 

[Moonraker]

I was suprised to read that there natural habitat is in woodland, as here they are growing in there thousands in a meadow which was grazed about ten years ago, put is now left to mother nature without a tree in site

It is quite normal habitat for pignuts to live in meadows too. From the linked site above

In spite of the fact that Pignut used to be grubbed up by pigs and people alike for food, it can still be found in open dry woodlands, scrub, sandy heaths, commons and other rough grasslands in most of the British Isles, although it is scarce in Eat Anglia, Eastern Ireland and on the Outer Hebrides

This is especially true of non-intensively managed traditional hay-meadows and hence the decline in numbers due to this type of habitat being lost through more intensive farming methods, development etc. However I would not say they are uncommon, certainly regionally (see areas where they are scarce in the quote). They do not have a specific 'UK Biodiversity Action Plan' but are included in a 'Habitat Action Plan' Upland hay meadows. Here isan extract from this:

For the purposes of this plan upland hay meadows are treated as being equivalent to EC Habitats Directive Annex 1 habitat 38.3, Northern Hay Meadows (British types with Geranium sylvaticum). The habitat thus comprises the single National Vegetation Classification community MG3, Anthoxanthum odoratum - Geranium sylvaticum grassland and is characterised by a dense growth of grasses and herbaceous dicotyledons up to 60 - 80 cm high. No single grass species is consistently dominant and the most striking feature of the vegetation is generally the variety and abundance of dicotyledons, including wood crane`s-bill Geranium sylvaticum, pignut Conopodium majus, great burnet Sanguisorba officinalis and lady`s mantles Alchemilla spp.

Here is the dataset summary (10km squares marked in grey where the plant is found) for Conopodium majus in the UKfrom the NBNGateway (great resource for finding distribution of plants in the UK)

 

[maverick]

Very interesting posts guys. I love this site as you learn something new every day

moonraker am I reading your post right? am I right in thinking that by leaving the meadow to its own devices I am helping the pignut population?
cheers
M

 

[Moonraker]

Very interesting posts guys. I love this site as you learn something new every day

moonraker am I reading your post right? am I right in thinking that by leaving the meadow to its own devices I am helping the pignut population?
cheers
M

Kinda If you just leave a meadow to it's own devices eventually it will ultimately revert to a natural climax vegetation which throughout Britain is deciduous woodland .

Basically through traditional methods of farming either through hay making or grazing, meadows and other species rich grasslands provide a specific habitat for plants such as pignuts. Therefore mans intervention on the land actually provides greater biodiversity.

This was true until modern farming practice introduced more intensive methods of cultivation, using artificial fertilisers which encourage certain grass species which grow quickly to smother out other less vigourous plants; use of selective herbicides which kill 'weeds' but do not kill the grass, thus improving productivity; killing everything with non-selective herbicides and replanting with perennial ryegrass species, often genetically bred now to again improve productivity of the field but offer mush less habitat to other plants, insects etc; small fields disappear as bigger modern farming machinery such as tractors means hedges get removed to make larger and larger fields; drainage of water meadows; changing away from hay making to silage and alternative crops, etc etc. All this means that this habitat has been in steep decline, especially since the last war.

It means that it is great if you wish to help retain such meadow or restore improved grassland back to this type of habitat! Broadly it means not so much zero intervention, rather, brining animals onto the filed to graze or cutting the grass for hay, removing cuttings to keep nutrient levels lower (if you cut grass you simply add their nutritional value back to the land) which encourages species diversity, not spraying with chemicals etc. In some situations if the grassland has been really improved so there is little natural diversity except planted ryegrass, then more drastic action might be required like removing it and restarting over with carefully selected grass/ wildflower mixtures.

Really the best first step is to contact your local Wildlife organisation, perhaps viayour local authority who should have a conservation officer. They will often be very happy to offer advice or point you in the right direction. There is free literature available and also grants too (depends on scale etc). One note, sourcing seed with local provenience (ie comes from a source locally rather than from Poland etc!) is important.

No two fields are the same And local expert advise will guide you as to the most appropriate management plan to produce a wonderful natural resource, and give you a good foraging ground for bushcrafting too

There is an interesting web site for Oxfordshire which will give a flavour of what it's about

Tips for Managing Lowland Meadows and Pastures for Conservation

There are some free leaflets available realting to Lowland Grassland here:

Joint NatureConservationCommittee - Lowland Grassland

includes:

Leaflets:
Grasslands.
Scottish Natural Heritage (Scotland's Living Landscapes series)

Horses, grasslands and nature conservation.
PDF - 206KB
English Nature

Lowland acid grassland – a rare and unique habitat.
English Nature[A bi-lingual version is available from CCW]

Lowland calcareous grassland – a scarce and special habitat.
PDF - 919KB
English Nature

Lowland Grassland Bulletin

Lowland Grassland LBAP Workshop: Local Action for Grassland in the UK
3 February 2004 - University of Lancaster

Hope that helps. Good luck

 

[Brixton]

Maybe this is the wrong topic but...
I read Mr Mabey's book "food for free"
In which he said that it's illegal to dig up wild plant roots unles it's on your own land or you have the landowner's permission.Is this still the case?

 

[Ed]

I read Mr Mabey's book "food for free"
In which he said that it's illegal to dig up wild plant roots unles it's on your own land or you have the landowner's permission.Is this still the case?

That is quite correct... its theft. Under uk law you may forage the 4 F's (flowers, foliage, fruit and fungi) without being proseuted for theft..... but not roots.


Ed

 

[Moonraker]

Maybe this is the wrong topic but...
I read Mr Mabey's book "food for free"
In which he said that it's illegal to dig up wild plant roots unles it's on your own land or you have the landowner's permission.Is this still the case?

Yes. Good point Brixton.

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981, which covers Britain, it is illegal to uproot any wild plant without permission from the landowner or occupier. Uproot is defined as to ‘dig up or otherwise remove the plant from the land on which it is growing’, whether or not it actually has roots; and, for the purposes of the legislation, the term ‘plant’ includes algae, lichens and fungi as well the true plants — mosses, liverworts and vascular plants. Similar general protection is given to all plants in Northern Ireland, under the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order, 1985.

Read more here:

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - Code of Conduct for the conservation and enjoyment of wild plants

and:

Protection of plants

Section 13 identifies measures for the protection of wild plants. It prohibits the unauthorised intentional uprooting of any wild plant species and forbids any picking, uprooting or destruction of plants listed on Schedule 8. It also prohibits the sale, etc, or possession for the purpose of sale of any plants on Schedule 8 or parts or derivatives of Schedule 8 plants . It provides certain defences, e.g. provision to cover incidental actions that are an unavoidable result of an otherwise lawful activity.

Note that it is not normally an offence to pick the 'Four Fs'; Fruit, Foliage, Fungi or Flowers - assuming that none of them are protected specifically - which are growing wild if they are for personal use and not for sale. This is not part of the Act but a part of common law. It covers such customs as blackberry-picking, taking ivy and holly at Christmas, mushroom-hunting and gathering sloes.

To exercise this right you must be somewhere you have a legal right to be - such as on a public footpath or in a public park. You cannot just go anywhere and pick the Four Fs. Obviously if enough people exercise this right at the same time and in the same place it could cause a lot of damage to habitats and species. In some places such as parks or commons local byelaws prevent such activities.

source:http://www.naturenet.net/law/wcagen.html#plants

There is further protection to those plants specified under Section 8 of the Act (currently being updated). Details here:

naturenet.net - Schedule 8 - Protected plants (including those added in 1998)

 

[maverick]

WOW Moonraker what knowledge, want a job lol

The reason we do not maintain the meadows (actually they are more like grassland areas than meadows) is that even though we have the machinery to cut it do not have the option of removing the grass which is as you say is imperitive to reduce the nitrogen levels so we just cut a path through for the guests to wander. Some of the grassland areas are already turning to woodland again I counted over three hundred six foot (ish) oak trees. however there seems to be a race between the tree seedlings and ever creeping bramble which is starting to smother everthing in it's path. I don't know my grasses that well but the grass looks lovely at the moment 3-4 foot high seed stalks waving in the wind giving a rich purple look to the whole area.
I think i need a herd of cows. Anyone got one lol

If you are ever in the uk give us a shout I would love to pick your brains

Thinking about it if there are any like minded people here in the uk and would like a couple of days camping on a private1500 acre estate feel free to contact me.
The only cost is your knowledge!

Thinking again (twice in one day thats good for me) if anyone fancies organising a group moot that could be arranged as well.